Free Immortal Love by Victoria Craven Page B

his chambers, hoping that he had finally rid himself of
his desire, but certain that sleep would be denied him.
    E leanor awoke when
she felt Dominick’s side of the bed shift. Instantly alert, she
stiffened. Opening her eyes to slits so as not to give herself
away, she watched him walk around the room naked.
    He was a man comfortable in his own skin and
moved about the room with the grace of a lion in his lair. When he
turned his back to her, she took the opportunity to study his form,
marveling at the muscles that bunched and stretched across his
back. They had been sleeping in the same bed for many nights, and
she was growing accustomed to his nakedness.
    Turning toward the bed, he began to dress.
She quickly closed her eyes so as not to be discovered watching,
keeping them shut until she heard their chamber door gently
close.
    She bolted upright in bed. Where was he
going? Remembering her father, her mind made the leap to Dominick’s
having a mistress, and sudden fury ran through her.
    Her body burst with energy and she left the
bed to pace the chamber floor, looking for something to do. She
threw new logs on the fire and watched the embers fan into flames.
Like the growing fire, her anger expanded in her chest.
    Unable to relax, she planted herself in a
chair near the hearth and watched the flames dance in front of her.
Their red and gold took her back to a time when her father had
flaunted his mistresses in front of her mother. She pounded her
fist on the arm of the chair. “I will not be made a fool of in my
own home.”
    Eleanor wasn’t aware of how much time had
passed until she heard the chamber door open. Dominick stepped
inside and she glared at him.
    His eyes reflected surprise when he saw her
sitting by the fire. “You’re awake,” he said as he removed his
mantle.
    Bitter venom rose in her throat. “Where have
you been?”
    His eyes narrowed slightly. “Why would it
concern you where I’ve been?”
    “As mistress of this household, I believe
it’s important that my husband conduct himself in an appropriate
manner.”
    His arms came across his chest as his spine
straightened. “In what way have I acted inappropriately?” he asked
flatly.
    Indignation made her heart hammer in her
chest, and she shot out of her chair to stand directly in front of
him. “You know perfectly well what I’m talking about, and don’t try
to deny it.”
    Dominick placed his hands on his hips.
“Eleanor, I will not play this game with you. What crime have I
committed that has you so upset?”
    “I won’t tolerate a dalliance with your
mistress. Do you think to shame me?”
    She saw that his own anger was rising by the
way his muscles worked at his jaw.
    He hesitated before he spoke. “What leads you
to believe I have a mistress?”
    “What leads me to believe . . . ” she
stopped, unable to believe he thought her so addle—brained. “For
the past three nights you have left our chamber. If not for a
mistress, then what other reason?”
    He stood in silence, but Eleanor sensed he
was about to confess his indiscretion, and her heart began to
sink.
    Dominick looked at the floor and shook his
head. “Eleanor, I’m a man of honor. For most of my life it was the
only thing I had. Honor is what I hold most precious above all
things, for without it a person is of no worth.” He paused, and the
only sound between them was the crackling of the fire. “There is no
honor in taking a mistress when a man is bound by God to his wife.
This you will never have to fear from me.”
    “You have yet to tell me where you go in the
middle of the night.”
    Dominick put his hands on his hips. “I walk
the battlements.”
    She gaped in disbelief. “The battlements?
Why?”
    He moved closer, but she refused to step
back. Before she knew what he was about, he had wrapped his arms
around her and lowered his lips onto hers.
    It happened so quickly she didn’t think to
resist. The kiss was not demanding or threatening. His lips